As electronic production test and measurement policies come into place, the demand for equipment to enable manufacturers to fulfil their obligations increases.

2020 might have been a year for companies to tighten their belts, as business opportunities were put on hold until greater visibility could be achieved in 2021.  Not for GEN3, who actually witnessed a swelling of their order book and, as a direct result, had to plan for expansion.

Nick Plumb, Global Operations Manager at GEN3, discusses the need to increase the company’s operational footprint within their Hampshire, UK, Manufacturing Headquarters.

“The demand for our test and measurement equipment has grown and grown over the past five years.  Our current customers not only source their equipment from us on a transactional basis, but also look to us, as their coach and mentor, to impart our knowledge of test services onto them.  This has led to an increase in our service level agreements, and a need to grow our team, as well as expand our operational footprint to facilitate our increased production requirements.

As Intelligence Spreads, so does Demand

Our customers are now far more aware of the industry-wide compliance standards they need to meet within their electronics manufacturing operations.  This awareness brings demand.  We pride ourselves in being one of the primary sources behind making sure our industry is up to date with the industry regulation and standards, to ensure fulfilment.

The rise in industry understanding meant the demand for our AutoSIR2+, AutoCAF2+, and CM+ Series products grew.  As a result, we added additional team members and increased our operational floorspace by adding a mezzanine area.

The mezzanine has become the new home for the build of both the AutoSIR2+ and AutoCAF2+. It also houses the Gensonic production, as well as space for storage of stock equipment. This also allowed us to create a larger production space for our CM+ series equipment.

There are a variety of different processes that go into building this test and measurement equipment, therefore by having a larger dedicated area, we have not only increased our capacity to fulfil our boosted order book, but we have future proofed GEN3 to meet our objectives for growth.

Customising our Space

We completely redesigned our production layout. We created individual production areas (cells) for each piece of equipment that we manufacture. It was important to create a layout whereby the engineers had plenty of room to work in, and to create a flow to achieve maximum productivity. Creating a mezzanine area enabled us to both utilise extra storage for stock machines, as well as make new space for another production area.

Having a larger factory space has enabled our engineers to be more efficient, as they have everything that they need to hand within their dedicated production area.

Our new test lab was also an important addition. This included investment in new equipment to enable us to offer important test service work to our customers.   We purchased a second environmental chamber to facilitate the increase in test service work. The test chambers are used with the AutoSIR2+ and AutoCAF2+ units. Separately we have dedicated test service versions of the equipment we manufacture that includes the CM+ series & MUST3. We are also able, when COVID-19 allows, to use this as a demonstration lab for potential customers.  That’s an exciting prospect for us.

GEN3 are continuing a number of investment strategies including a further expansion of our R&D work involving both our equipment and ‘round robin’ development projects with industry partners.

There is also a vast amount of work taking place on a few internal projects which will lead to some exciting news to be announced within the next few months – watch this space!”

About GEN3

GEN3. Testing and measuring the electronics industry for over 40 years.  For three generations, GEN3 have designed, engineered, manufactured, and distributed their test and measurement equipment into the electronics industry to shield their clients from failure in the field.

Their reputation for excellence has grown to a global scale. The team is made up of industry experts who work to set the standards around circuit testing, measurement, and compliance.  They collaborate with key industry associations, offering our unique experience and expertise to educate all on what it takes to succeed.  For product protection the preferred way is GEN3, where precision comes as standard, acting as a mentor and knowledge partner.

In the high-reliability arena, there is too much at stake to allow room for error. Testing must be finite and flawless. GEN3 understand the need for precision. Get closer to perfection by minimising your risk.

PCB EAST: The original East Coast technical conference and exhibition! Returning to the Boston suburbs in June 2021! 

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